First successful integration of the PCAS system with an MV-22 tilt-rotor aircraft

Meet the Successful Consulting Team behind DARPA’s PCAS Latest Demonstration

They worked in the shadows providing testing and technical assistance to DARPA for the PCAS weapon test.

Barone Consulting is proud to announce the successful completion of a networked Persistent Close Air Support (PCAS) combat capabilities test on an MV-22 tilt-rotor aircraft. Two members of Barone Consulting, Marshall Frith and Scott Ponsor, were actively involved in the system integration and test of the PCAS program, which came to a successful completion on 27^th March.

The demonstration, which took place in the southwest region of the United States, marked the first successful integration of the PCAS system within a USMC aircraft. Right from the planning to the execution, the demonstration was a big success that wouldn’t have been possible without the teamwork of every person involved.

PCAS, which is the brainchild of Defense Advanced Research Program Agency (DARPA), is an improvement on the existing close air support capabilities (CAS). Unlike CAS, which relies heavily on voice instructions and paper maps, PCAS leverages advances in computing and communication technologies to deliver reliable coordination between ground forces and aircrews.

In creating PCAS, DARPA envisions an all-digital close air support system. The system constitutes of two main components: PCAS-Air and PCAS-Ground.

PCAS-Air consists of a GPS enabled system that uses high-speed internet connections and sophisticated algorithms that are able to calculate the optimal path to the target as well as recommend the best weapon to deploy once the targeted is identified and selected.

PCAS-Ground, a suite of situational awareness and mapping software on Android tablet computer. Information can also be visualized using a HUD eyepiece that displays imagery, maps, and other information about the target, letting the troops keep their eyes on the target, not the tablets. PCAS-Ground has already been put to the test in Afghanistan, where it quickly proved a significant success. The units in Afghanistan replaced paper maps with PCAS-Ground and reported increased and improved agility as well as precise coordinate air engagements.

PCAS not only makes Close Air Support prompt and precise but also enables the employment of small munitions, something which greatly reduce collateral damage.

The successful prototyping of PCAS on the MV-22 tilt-rotor aircraft opens doors to a larger discussion on modern CAS within the Department of Defense. Barone Consulting, which is one of the most remarkable systems engineering and technical assistance firms in the United States, hopes to play a crucial role in the future advancement of the PCAS program.

About Barone Consulting
Founded in 2009, Barone Consulting, provides technical assistance and system engineering services to the Department of Defense and the intelligent community. They offer a cadre of elite subject matter experts to the government in support of game-changing, cutting edge technologies.

BLADE Phase 2, Completes Test & Evaluation Program

Washington, DC (February 18, 2014) Barone Consulting, as the technical SETA support to the DARPA BLADE Program, successfully executed the Phase 2 Test & Evaluation activities which culminated in the selection of Lockheed Martin Advanced Technology Lab in Cherry Hill, NJ as the Phase 3 performer.

DARPA BLADE Phase 3 SETA Task Order Awarded to Barone Consulting

Barone Consulting’s, RF communications systems and flight test expertise contracted by DARPA I2O to provide BLADE Phase 3, adaptive electronics warfare program support.

Washington, DC (October 1, 2013) – The U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), through the Information Innovation Office (I2O), has awarded Barone Consulting, a $532K task order for the Behavioral Learning for Adaptive Electronic Warfare (BLADE) Phase 3 Program, systems engineering, and technical assistance (SETA) support effort.
“Barone Consulting is excited to continue its support of the adaptive BLADE electronic warfare jamming system by following it into its phase 3 development and field testing. With Phase 2 we were pushing the envelope to see what innovative algorithms the performers could bring to BLADE. In Phase 3, we’ll see how well those algorithms hold up in a tactically relevant environment,” said Kevin Barone, President and CEO of Barone Consulting.

The BLADE Program is developing the capability to counter new and dynamic wireless communication threats in tactical environments; enabling a shift from today’s manual-intensive lab-based countermeasure approach to an adaptive, in-the-field systems approach. The program is achieving this by developing novel machine learning algorithms and techniques that can rapidly detect and characterize new radio threats, dynamically synthesize new countermeasures, and provide accurate battle damage assessment based on over-the-air observable changes in the threat.

Under this task order Barone Consulting will provide subject matter experts responsible for overseeing the technical development of implementing the BLADE Phase 2 solution into a deployed hardware framework, and execution of the Phase 3 ground and flight testing activities. Either Lockheed Martin Advanced Technologies Laboratories in Cherry Hill, NJ, or BAE Systems in Nashua, NH, will be down selected as the BLADE Phase 3 performer.

The work for the BLADE Program was awarded under a task order to Booze Allen Hamilton’s DARPA/I2O contract vehicle. All work will be completed onsite at DARPA’s new headquarters in Arlington, VA, over the next 18-24 months.

Founded in 2009, Barone Consulting provides system engineering and technical assistance services to the Department of Defense and the intelligence community. They provide a cadre of elite subject matter experts to the government in support of game-changing, cutting edge technologies that help performers bridge the “valley of death” between R&D and fielded tactically relevant products. To find out more, please visit www.baronedc.com.

Barone Consulting Awarded DARPA ISIS Phase 3 SETA Support Task Order

Recognizing Barone Consulting’s experience with mission software related to communications systems and flight operations, DARPA’s STO taps their expertise for ISIS Phase 3 SETA support.

Washington, DC (August 29, 2009) The U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (DARPA) Strategic Technology Office (STO) has awarded Washington, DC based Barone Consulting a task order worth $691 thousand for the Integrated Sensor Is Structure (ISIS) Phase 3 Program, systems engineering and technical assistance (SETA) support effort.
‘Barone Consulting is extremely proud to be supporting this visionary system, which will provide unprecedented ISR capabilities to our armed forces’ said Kevin Barone, president and CEO of Barone Consulting. With the DARPA ISIS program, our Air Force flight testing experience and software development experience filled a critical gap in the government’s ability to manage this high risk, high reward program.

The joint DARPA/U.S. Air Force Integrated Sensor is Structure (ISIS) program is focused on developing a sensor of unprecedented proportions that will be fully integrated into a stratospheric airship. ISIS is designed to provide persistent wide-area surveillance, tracking, and engagement for hundreds of time-critical air and ground targets in deployed overseas urban and rural environments, without requiring in-theater support facilities or personnel. ISIS seeks radical sensor improvements by melding the next generation technologies for enormous lightweight antenna apertures and high-energy density components into a highly integrated, lightweight, multi-purpose airship structure, completely erasing the distinction between payload and platform.

Barone Consulting will provide subject matter expertise, oversight of the airships’ flight safety systems, and interfacing with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Unmanned Aircraft Program Office (UAPO) to coordinate airworthiness determinations in support of an FAA COA. As a joint partner in the ISIS program, Barone Consulting will coordinate with the Air Force Flight Test Organizations at Edwards Air Force Base (California) and Wright Patterson Air Force Base (Ohio). In addition to flight safety and airworthiness, Barone Consulting will bring their experience in mission software development to oversee the ISIS ground station, mission planning software, and flight operations and communications software.

SETA support for the ISIS program, which was awarded under a task order to System Planning Corporations DARPA/STO contract vehicle, will be completed onsite at DARPA’s Arlington, VA, office over the next 36 months. Lockheed Martin in Palmdale, CA, has been selected as the prime integrator along with Raytheon Systems in El Segundo, CA, as the radar developer. The total contract award is valued at $399.9 million.